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The Ming Wah Cafe sign outside the downtown storefront on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, in Sioux Falls. The Ming Wah Cafe closed it's doors on Jan. 31 after being open more than 40 years. Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader

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-Scott McGuire, 16, works the buffet line at Coyote Canyon Steak Buffet. McGuire is a Washington High School student and previously worked as a server at Sirloin Stockade before it closed and was reopened by Coyote Canyon. Val Hoeppner, Copyright 1998;Yes

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-Gary Butler (right) and Mark Coon, both of Lincoln, Neb., who work for Pegler Sysco food service equipment, unload kitchen shelving and carry it into the Runza restaurant being built on Cliff Avenue south of 57th Street. The restaurant could be open as soon as the end of the month, local officials said. Ken Klotzbach, Copyright 1998;Yes

Skogen brought the proposal to the board with a tenant in mind but said the lease is yet unsigned. The former Ming Wah space has remained mostly empty since the Chinese restaurant closed in 2015.

Local firm MSH Architects has previously asked the Sioux Falls community for ideas of what to do with the building, putting out chalk and inviting passersby to write down their ideas during Design Week each year.

Renderings for the proposed changes show a completely updated facade. The front of the building would be remodeled to include a nook for dining and lots of windows. Much of the revamped front would use aluminum and steel, with quartz along the base.

The old Ming Wah building was built in 1916 and belongs to the Downtown Historic District. Because it's located downtown, the building's exterior can't be updated without approval from Sioux Falls Board of Historic Preservation.

Board members liked the design and recommended Skogen use black bricks to frame the exterior instead of the originally proposed painted wood.